After living with a rare, disabling, and currently incurable genetic disease, Eastlack decided to have his skeleton and medical history donated to the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia in support of FOP research.

[1] As is characteristic of FOP patients, Eastlack did not demonstrate any possible sign of a disease at birth except for a malformation of the big toes.

The fracture never set properly, and when the cast was removed months later, his leg was painfully swollen with a high amount of inflammation.

[citation needed] In attempts to diagnose and treat Eastlack's condition, the doctors ordered biopsies and performed a total of 11 surgical procedures to remove excess and heterotopic ossification, such as that on his thigh muscles.

Over time Eastlack became more and more immobilized as more joints became fused and newly formed sheets or strings of bone calcified his limbs.

The ossification along his vertebrae and other anatomical parts that Eastlack would suffer in the next 29 years ultimately fused him into a permanently bowed position.

[6] Eastlack's case of FOP progressed at a more rapid rate due to the number of intrusive surgeries he underwent.

[6] One year he accidentally bumped his buttocks into a radiator, and this resulted in a bruise wherein the smooth tissue was destroyed and gave way to newly formed bone.

[1] Eastlack died at the Inglis House for the Incurables—a care home dedicated to attending low income, physically disabled individuals.

[6] Near the time of his death, Eastlack told his sister, Helene, that he desired to donate his body and medical records to research, so that the disease may be further investigated and understood.

With his skeleton on display, doctors and professors alike lead students to the Mütter Museum to observe the result of the rare disorder in person.

Since surgeries and examinations of FOP patients exacerbate the condition, the ability to study Eastlack's skeleton has been significant for research.

[1] For example, over 43 families were recorded to have attended a two-day symposium hosted in Philadelphia in October 1995 to listen to orthopedic surgeons and physicians discuss the details of FOP.

[10] After seeing his skeleton at this event, fellow FOP patient Carol Orzel decided to also donate her body to the museum.

[12] The scene provides some genuine facts, such as how Eastlack's skeleton does not require any wiring or glue to be held together in the museum because the fused bones hold it all in one piece.